Everything I bought on online shopping platforms was genuine.

Chapter 1098 Fakes cost nothing!

Although they didn't quite understand what it was saying, it still gave them a sense of awe and wonder.

At this moment, Lin Mo's eyes were as clear as a college student's. After all, he was a college student. Although he had made a lot of progress in the past six months, he was still essentially that clear-headed but foolish male college student.

Cognitive progress is not instantaneous, but a gradual process, and the same applies to broadening one's horizons.

Lin Mo was just an ordinary person who made some money and achieved financial freedom through luck. If it weren't for the help of Su He and Liu Ruyan, he wouldn't even have been able to run a restaurant properly, let alone have a higher level of business strategic vision.

Su He's gaze was similar to hers. Although she had graduated a few years ago and was quite capable, it was clear that she only had a workplace mindset. This approach might be useful in the workplace or in an employee environment, but it was not very useful for investment or entrepreneurship.

Therefore, their understanding of each other was forcibly brought to a similar level, and naturally, their gazes were also similar.

"No... you really don't understand a thing?" Liu Ruyan frowned, looking incredulous.

Upon hearing this, Su He and her brother shook their heads repeatedly. There was nothing they could do; they truly didn't understand!

This is much more difficult than when Liu Ruyan's company had problems!

“Alright,” Liu Ruyan sighed and resigned herself to her fate, “Simply put, when investing in business in a county town, small businesses are fine, but for slightly larger businesses, you think you’re here to do business, but you’re actually intruding into someone else’s game. If you don’t understand the three elements I mentioned above, then you’re sitting in the wrong place.”

In our country, there are more than 2,800 new county-level urban areas. Each county is an independent chessboard. You need to know who the players are and who rules the game, otherwise you can only be used as a pawn that has crossed the river.

These are things no one will write in an investment promotion brochure, and no one will tell you about them at a dinner party.

Later, my dad consulted some people and came to the conclusion that if the proportion of agriculture in a county does not decrease but increases, or remains above 30% for a long time, it means two things: first, industrialization cannot be promoted here; second, the labor force is tied up by something.

Secondly, in places where clan culture is particularly strong, it is even more difficult to enter the market.

It's not that you can't do business, but you need to understand that when you go to a place like this, you're not there to compete; you're there to curry favor.

In some places where clan ties are strong, an entire village is inhabited by people with the same surname. As you can imagine, it's incredibly difficult for someone from another clan to come and do business.

When a county has impressive industrial data, encompassing machinery, electronics, and information technology, it's a positive sign. It indicates that the area is becoming more market-oriented, which inevitably dilutes traditional power structures like clans, flattens the power structure, and makes the rules more transparent.

The most difficult ones are those resource-based counties, such as those producing gasoline, natural gas, and steel mills. Those are the domains of central state-owned enterprises, and local governments can only get a small share at best; you can't really get involved.

If a county has a large proportion of industries such as coal mining, sand and gravel, and non-ferrous metals, then the waters in that county are very deep. Being a coal boss is not just a profession, but a form of power.

In conclusion, my family eventually only expanded our business to some developed areas, while Jiangning became our base.

After all, if you focus solely on county towns, you might finally establish a foothold in one, but if you switch to another, you'll have to start all over again, which is too costly, and sometimes there are too many restrictions.

As she spoke, Lin Mo and Su He were stunned, because no one had ever told them these things before.

Although Liu Ruyan's words were very cryptic, both of them understood something this time.

"Simply put, there has to be a relationship!" Su He thought for a while before finally summarizing.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan raised her glass, clinked it against Su He's, took a sip, and said nothing more.

Some things can be said more or less without being explicitly stated. But at least, while competition in big cities is fiercer, there is at least a level playing field where one won't be eliminated without a reason. More often than not, it's simply that investors lack the necessary skills, are not accepted by the market, or cannot compete with their peers.

"Ah, this is hellish for someone like me who doesn't like dealing with people!" Lin Mo exclaimed.

Hearing this, Su He rolled her eyes at him: "You, just enjoy your life as a kept man, what are you thinking about!"

"Alright, I think so too. I'm more likely to be a kept man." After saying that, the two looked at Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan:

"When did you two become so shameless? Fine, let them eat. I'll try to earn more money, otherwise I won't be able to support you two as gigolos. Here, little brother, give your sister another half bowl of rice!"

"Okay, sis, I'll go right away!" Lin Mo quickly got up.

After learning about the difficulties of starting a business, he decided to just live off his wife and make some money from shopping websites on the side; that kind of thing was too mentally taxing.

His biggest wish in life is that when he's seventy or eighty years old, his mind will still be 99% sharp—a rare thing indeed.

Excessive mental exertion ages you prematurely; only those who are not so intelligent and are easily satisfied will live a comfortable life.

The three of them had a simple meal and celebrated a little. Afterwards, Liu Ruyan and Lin Mo drove directly back to the university town.

In other words, Liu Ruyan only spent half a day at the company today. Fortunately, she was the boss, so no one deducted her full attendance bonus.

Su He, on the other hand, is starting her job at the hotel tomorrow, so she naturally can't go to his place anymore.

Fortunately, Su He didn't necessarily have to be present at the restaurant, since she had been traveling for half a month before.

Soon, the two drove back to Chengyue Residential Complex. As soon as their car arrived at the entrance, they saw Miss Yuan's Mercedes-Benz G-Class returning from outside and preparing to turn into the complex.

Then, the G-Wagon slowly rolled down its window, and Miss Yuan poked her head out, calling out to their car, "Hey~ you're back!"

Lin Mo rolled down the car window and smiled, "You're back, Sister Yuan. Did you go out to play?"

"Yes, by the way, do you want honey? Pure wild honey!" Miss Yuan said.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo was taken aback: "Wild honey?"

“Yes,” Miss Yuan said, reaching into the back seat to take out a transparent plastic bag containing a honeycomb the size of a washbasin, golden-orange in color and covered with honey. She then continued, “How is it? It’s wild, isn’t it!”

"Huh??? Where did you buy it? I hope you didn't get a fake?" Lin Mo asked suspiciously.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Miss Yuan grabbed the Sichuan girl from the passenger seat and pointed at her swollen face, which was covered in bruises from the sting, and shouted angrily, "What do you mean fake? Take a good look! It's pure wild! There are no fakes in the mountains! Do you think fakes don't cost money?"

Lin Mo: (ΩДΩ)

Liu Ruyan: Σ(⊙▽⊙“a

(End of this chapter)